The Federal Reserve and the Financial CrisisBen S. Bernanke

"The author examines what the Federal Reserve was intended to accomplish, how it performed its statutory task as it evolved over time and the special functions of the lender-of-last-resort that have been called upon during the financial crisis. These lectures provide a useful primer on matters not often presented in such a comprehensive or unequivocal way. Bernanke's reputation is often identified with his expertise on the Great Depression. Here, he presents himself differently, as a practitioner of central banking. . . . A great introduction to the functioning of central banking for general readers."--Kirkus Reviews

"This important book deserves to be read widely both because Bernanke admirably explains the Fed and its actions and because his authorship provides a window into his thinking as one of the world's most powerful financial figures."--Library Journal (starred review)

"In March 2012, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, gave four guest lectures at George Washington University. This slim volume--at only 130 pages, comfortably finished in the time it takes to watch a TV movie--comprises those lectures apparently almost verbatim, with a few astute audience questions and answers at the end of each. . . . This is easy reading."--Financial World

"The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis . . . provides a useful tutorial on the workings of an institution in its most difficult hour. For that reason alone, it makes an important contribution to the historical record."--Marc L. Ross, Financial Analysts Journal

"[T]his is a useful and highly approachable take on the history of central banking and the recent financial crisis. It's worth a read, if only to get a first-person narrative from one of the most important figures in global capital markets."--Carrie Sheffield, Washington Times

"[F]or those interested in why we have central banks, what led to the 2008 financial crisis and how the nation's top officials reacted, there isn't a better primer. . . . This is no boring textbook, despite the occasional chart. Bernanke presents a clear and engaging narrative of the economic history of the United States, while also tackling a few of the perennial anti-Fed bugaboos. . . . One of the book's most important achievements is to place the Fed's extraordinary interventions during the crisis--including the emergency lending of $1.2 trillion to the financial industry--in context."--Ben Weyl, Roll Call

"That loud crack you hear are the necks snapping as money-managers and financial specialists all over the country do double takes before snatching this book off the shelves."--C.D. Quyn, San Francisco Book Review

"[The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis] is a helpful primer on modern central banking by one of its preeminent practitioners."--Foreign Affairs

"This book will be particularly useful for those teaching a class in either macroeconomics or economic history of the twentieth century at the undergraduate level, as these lectures provide a succinct and accessible account of U.S. macro policymaking over the last hundred years."--Kris James Mitchener, EH.Net

"Providing first-hand knowledge of how problems in the financial system were handled, The Federal Reserve and the Financial Crisis will long be studied by those interested in this critical moment in history."--World Book Industry

ADDITIONAL ENDORSEMENTS:

"In this well-organized book, Ben Bernanke tells the story of the Fed from its founding to the recent financial crisis. Bernanke's rendering is coherent and compelling."--Barry Eichengreen, author of Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System

"It is rare indeed to find a Fed chairman looking back and explaining the Fed's actions. In this valuable book, Ben Bernanke argues strongly that the Fed's decisions during the financial crisis were consistent with long-standing central banking practices. His account is an important part of the historical record."--Alan Blinder, Princeton University